


Patching Things Up

by KingBirb



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crispy arm, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Lesbian Cassandra (Disney: Tangled), Rapunzel helping Cass with her wounds, Requited Love, many cuddles, theyre very gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:27:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28666206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingBirb/pseuds/KingBirb
Summary: Cassandra is still upset about The Great Tree and Rapunzel just wants to make it up to her. There’s a lot of feelings, Rapunzel helping patch up Cass’s arm, and lots of gay. What more could you want?
Relationships: Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 52





	Patching Things Up

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this all in one day and the idea came from @/luneings on twitter so thanks. 
> 
> I hope y’all enjoy!

A shot of blistering pain overwhelms my senses at my first attempt to remove the tightly wrapped bandage around my right arm. An impulsive yelp escapes my lips and I immediately cover my mouth, eyes widened, praying that no one heard. A few seconds go by, and I hold my breath.

“Cass?” There it is. The one person I don’t want to be talking to right now. Especially not now. “Cass are you out here?” 

I stay silent, wondering if silence will get her to drop it, but instead, I hear a small hatch opening next to my head and a small body forcing its way through. I look back down at my bandaged arm, not quite ready to face her yet.

A puff of air is barely visible in the night as I sigh. The cool breeze helps the burning sensation in my hand to numb just a bit. But that’s not the only reason I’m outside on the seat of the caravan trying to change my wound in the middle of a cool night. 

A hand rests on my shoulder, and I can’t force myself to look up. Instead, I focus on finding a weak spot in my bandaging that would allow me to unwrap it in a way that would cause the least pain possible. The person next to me sighs.

“Cass, why didn’t you tell me your arm was bugging you again? I can help you.” Her voice sounds desperate. A pang of guilt rushes through my chest. I’m not exactly sure why, but I don’t dwell on it. I look up at her face, and the concern in her green hues almost surprises me.

It’s been a few days since that whole memory wand fiasco, and yet I’m still not quite ready to forgive Rapunzel. I’m not ready to be around her more than I have to. It will take time. 

“Rapunzel, I’m fine, sorry for waking you.” I try to clench my charred fist but the moment the skin tightens, the same searing pain from earlier shocks me. I let out another, albeit smaller yelp of pain, and turn away, holding my arm up to my chest. “Go back to sleep Rapunzel.”

Unfortunately for me, the princess is very stubborn. I should’ve known that wouldn’t work. The smaller body shifts closer and I see a hand reaching out for my injured arm. “Cass, let me help you redress your burn.”

I try to scoot away but a grip on my unharmed arm stops me. “Please Raps, I’ll be fine, I can redress it myself.” My voice wavers. Her grip on me is not strong, I could easily pull out of it, but I don’t. As much as I don’t forgive her for what she did to my arm, something in me doesn’t want her to leave, for me to pull away. 

“Let me do this for you, Cass. It’s the least I could do after all that’s happened. I know it’s going to take time for you to forgive me, but I still want to be there for you, just like you’re always there for me.” I turn and see a hopeful expression present on her face, eyes lit up with a spark determination. I feel my heart rate pick up but push that down. Not the time. 

A quiet hoot can be heard from above us and we both look up to see Owl gazing down. He’s staring right into my soul, almost judging me. “Hoot hoot,” I hear, and as I translate what he just said, heat rushes to my face. 

“What did he just say?” I hear Rapunzel ask, but I can’t let her see my face, which must look like a tomato. 

I turn to look away from Raps as I try to stutter out a response. “He uh, h-he said that the uh, the worst of the storm- wait I mean he said that uhh, that he’s going to leave now.” I spin my head to glare at him, and his eyes squint a bit, that judgemental look still present. He then turns away and flies off to a nearby tree.

That’s definitely not what he just said. No, what he said was something way too accurate about a part of myself I’ve been trying to bury deep down. A part of myself that no one can know about. I’d lose any chance at living the life I’ve worked so hard at if they knew. All because of one stupid thing I could never control. 

I’m pulled out of my thoughts by the voice of the one who is causing such confusing and alarming feelings. 

“Yeah, uh, okay. Well I still want to dress your wounds, and I’m not leaving here until you let me help you.” Rapunzel says decisively. Once my face finally feels a bit cooled down, I turn and meet her eyes. 

She’s not going to back down, I may as well indulge her. That’s at least the reason I tell myself when I accept, ignoring any other possible reasons I may want her to dress my wound. “Fine, just be careful.”

The joy that radiates from her face makes it worth it. A grin breaks out on her face as I hand her the medical supplies I had brought out with me. “You won’t regret this!”

I roll my eyes. “Oh I’m so gonna regret this,” I mutter. If she heard that, she didn’t react as she carefully took my burned hand in both of hers. 

“If anything hurts, please tell me, alright?” Her voice is laced with care, yet she sounds very serious as she looks right in the eyes to make sure I answer. I nod, unable to speak as the intensity of her eyes renders me speechless. 

Carefully examining my singed arm, she finds a loose spot in the bandage and starts slowly peeling it off. I suck in a breath and she jerks her head up to look at me, questioning look in her eyes. “Just be quick, okay?” I tell her. The slower she pulls it off, the more agonizing the pain. 

She nods silently. She finds the loose end of the bandage again, and this time pulls at it faster and harder. I hiss, my jaw clenched and my whole body tense as I try to dull the pain. It feels like an extra layer of skin is being ripped off. I’ve really been holding off on changing this bandage, and it’s almost as if it melded into the burns. 

Rapunzel makes it quick, unwrapping it in one go, better than I could have on myself. By the time it’s all off, tears well up in my eyes that I try to blink away. The pain is unbearable, so I focus on my breathing. Anything to get my mind off of the pain. 

A hand comes up and gently wipes away any tears that escaped my eyes. I lean into it a bit, my mind still a bit hazy on pain. It feels nice. Warm. 

The hand leaves my face, and before I can complain, an arm wraps around my waist and pulls me in, forcing me to lean onto Rapunzel’s warm body. “You did so well Cass, we’re almost done, okay?” I rest for another minute, waiting for the pain to subside. “The next part will be quick,” Raps continues, trying to reassure me. It actually kinda works. 

Rapunzel sets the used bandage down and grabs some fresh ones, as well as a small disinfectant cloth. As she does so, I turn my head and bury my nose into the crook of her neck. It feels so nice, I can barely register the voice in my head telling me that this is wrong. I hear a small squeal from the princess as her grip around my waist tightens. 

My eyes roll instinctively, even if she can’t see. “Not. A. Word.” 

A small giggle from the princess is like music to my ears. “I didn’t say anything,” she responds, trying to sound nonchalant. “You can stay like that if you want while clean and wrap you up.” As she says that, my brain goes into full panic mode. A part of me that wants this way more than I should is internally screaming while the more rational part of my brain is telling me that this is dangerous. 

I’m usually a very logical person, mind you, but when an offer like this is layed out, even the logical part of me can’t stop myself from indulging in her offer. I nuzzle a little closer into her neck, and she sighs happily. Hearing that sound makes my heart skip a beat. 

As she takes my arm again, her hands soft and warm, and I focus on that. “Alright, this will sting for just a second, and then it’ll be gone.” She states, waiting for me to acknowledge her. 

“Go ahead,” I mumble, my voice muffled in her neck. Rapunzel laughs at the sensation, before focusing back on my arm. 

“Alright, I’m gonna start cleaning it now.” With that, a small damp cloth makes contact with my skin and the intense and burning pain returns. I let out a pained whine before silencing myself, forcing my mouth closed. Rapunzel hastily wipes at all the ruined skin, making sure to not miss any spot. 

“Okay I’m done.” The cloth is removed and the pain is already starting to dull. I pull my head away from her neck to gaze upon the charred, black skin. I grimace at the look of it, but seeing Rapunzel holding my arm with so much care makes me feel a little less upset at her. 

When I look at her face, I can see the guilt and shame radiating off of her. I don’t want her to feel bad about this right now, so I send her my best attempt at a reassuring smile. She seems to accept it and smiles back sadly. 

“Alright I should wrap it now.” I nod, opting to stay silent as she takes the bandage and begins wrapping, starting with my forearm. The pain has mostly been reduced to a dull ache and fortunately doesn’t get much worse from there. 

I take this time to study Rapunzel’s face as she’s focusing very hard at the task at hand. That was a mistake. 

As I study her features, my heart begins to stutter. I can’t help but find every inch of her beautiful, from her focused eyes down to the faint freckles dotting her face. My gaze comes to rest on her lips, almost like that’s where my eyes are drawn to the most. 

The soft curve of her lip, her tongue slightly sticking out of her mouth in deep concentration, it all entrances me. It’s like I’m lost, and that’s all I can see, the light in the dark. I don’t feel myself leaning in, but as something soft makes contact with my own lips, I realized my eyes had closed unconsciously, and I’m suddenly jolted out of my thoughts.

My eyes flutter open and I see Rapunzel’ deep greens staring into mine, but that’s not what I’m focusing on right now. As my senses return I am finally able to comprehend what’s going on. I jerk away covering my mouth, a rush of fear rolling over me like a bucket of ice water was just poured over my head. 

I frantically scoot away from the princess as I see her eyes very wide, staring at me in surprise. 

I just kissed the princess. On the lips. I’m dead. 

Well at least when I go to hell, I got a taste of heaven first. 

The bandage on my arm hadn’t been fully wrapped yet and started to loosen as it was torn away from Rapunzel’s hands. I couldn’t bother to worry about that right now. I just ruined everything. I’m going to be sent to a convent! And Rapunzel? Well I wouldn’t be surprised if she hates me now. 

My panic starts to pick up and breathing suddenly starts to feel hard. My throat feels like it’s contracting in on itself and blocking the passage of air as I start to heave. I’ve ruined my life. Why couldn’t I have just forced Rapunzel to go back inside? Why couldn’t I have chosen a different time to redress my wounds? My visions starts to blur and My head starts to feel light and-

A pair of arms are wrapped around me, hugging me close. “Shhhh, it’s alright Cass, I’m here.” I automatically tense up, my breathing still erratic. “Cass, breathe with me. Can you do that?” I shakily nod and start following her breaths to the best of my ability. 

A few minutes go by and it’s just us breathing silently together. Her arms are still wrapped around me, and her head pressed to my chest, ear right against my heart which I’m certain is beating rapidly. 

My breathing has calmed down to normal and I sigh, resting my cheek against the top of her blonde hair. “Rapunzel, I am so sorry.” I can feel tears leaking from my eyes. “I know you probably hate me now. I know you love Eugene and you don’t feel that way about me. I just- I lost control.” 

Raps pulls out of the hug, her hands coming up to hold my shoulders. I hesitantly gaze into her eyes, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Nervous energy wracks my whole being as I await a response. 

Rapunzel’s eyes flit all across my face, before stopping on my lips and my stomach flips. “Cass, I don’t hate you. I could never hate you.” She moves her gaze to my eyes. Her deep green eyes search mine for a moment, while I do the same to hers. For once, I can’t read her face. 

“You should hate me. I deserve it.” My lip starts quivering. I’m barely holding myself together at this point. I feel one of her hands trail across my shoulder and move to my cheek, similar to earlier. Once again, she’s wiping away any tears she sees, but this time I don’t lean into the touch. I can’t afford to go in any deeper. 

“No, Cass. I will never hate you. Ever.” She says sincerely, pausing for a moment. She contemplates before saying her next words. “I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest, alright?” Oh no. She’s gonna- “Do you love me?” As the princess asks this, she glances down at my lips for a moment before looking me right in the eye. 

My breath hitches at the question. I could easily lie and call what I did an accident. It could save my future and my friendship with Rapunzel. But I know I can’t bring myself to lie. I have been avoiding this for so long, even Owl knew about it. 

Unable to look her in the eye while I respond, I look down. “Rapunzel I- yes. I’m sorry.” Tears are falling uncontrollably from my eyes again. “I love you so much, too much. I shouldn’t feel this way about you.” My voice finally cracks, and before I can pull out of her touch, Rapunzel brings both of her hands to my face and forces my head to look up at her.

“Cass.” Her voice laced with nothing but pure affection, it genuinely takes me aback. “I- love you too.”

“...”

My brain short circuits. No. This couldn’t be true. She can’t love me, she loves Eugene. She’s only into men. She has to be playing with me. 

Before I can get a word out I see her leaning forward, staring at my lips. She stops only an inch away from me. “Can I kiss you?” 

I think I just died right then and there. I must’ve because I barely remember anything after she asked that. All I can recall is the smooth feel of her lips on mine again; it may have lasted a few seconds, or even a few minutes. My brain seems to be incapable of processing anything. 

As she pulls away, the look in her eyes tells me everything. She’s not lying. 

I catch my breath. “What about Eugene?” It’s all I can think to say. 

Rapunzel looks away, a guilty look on her face. “We’ve kind of hit a bit of a rough spot. Out here on the road, I’ve realized that this is what I want. I love the freedom and the adventure. Eugene is more interested in living a safe and secure life. I may love him, but not like that anymore. I see him as more of a friend, and we’ve talked it out.” 

At this new knowledge, my eyes almost bulge. Eugene and Rapunzel broke up? 

Rapunzel continues. “That’s not the only reason either. I have started having these… feelings for you lately, and I felt guilty about it. I can’t be with Eugene when I have feelings for someone else.” A dark red blush begins to grow on her face. 

“You really do?” I ask, completely astonished by this turn of events. Rapunzel doesn’t give a verbal answer right away. Instead she looks down and pulls up my injured hand delicately. She then begins to lace her fingers within mine. 

“I really, really do. I love you so much Cass.” I squeeze her hand a little, being careful not to strain my own too much. 

“I love you too, Raps. More than I think I’ve ever loved anything. Even sword fighting!” The princess lets out a small chuckle. It feels like a weight has been lifted. I feel free. I laugh along with Rapunzel. 

She then leans her head onto my chest. “I guess I should finish up wrapping your hand, huh.”

I shrug. “You probably should.” As Rapunzel works, any pain I may have felt feels drained. My heart is thrumming, and I can’t tear the uncharacteristic grin off my face. Raps finishes before I really notice, and snuggles up as close to me as possible. I pull her in as close as I can and nuzzle the top of her head. She lets out a contented sigh. 

For the first time, I finally have an idea of what my real destiny is. It isn’t joining the guard or proving myself to everyone. My destiny is currently curled up against me, and has probably fallen asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Owl is a legend. 
> 
> Yes I took Eugene out of the narrative for gay purposes. No shade to Eugene. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and i always love comments so if you wanna leave one... go ahead!


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